Home Purchase Process
Purchasing a home, whether buying for the first time or not, is an exciting time. It marks the end of one era and the beginning of another on our lives. We enjoy educating and walking our customers through each step of the process and feel that doing so makes for a more enjoyable experience. Below, we break the home buying process down to its five basic parts.
Stage 1: Pre-Approval
The very first step in the home buying process is securing your financing and obtaining your pre-approval. In this process, you’ll learn the maximum mortgage payment you can qualify for, the loan programs available to you, the documentation you’ll need to provide, and the funds you will need in the bank. You are a phone call or a click of the mouse away from getting all the facts as it relates to your situation.
Stage 2: Home Shopping
Now that you are pre-approved, it’s time to select your real estate agent; the one who will help you find the home you want to call home. You want a hard-working agent who will put you first. We recommend interviewing full-time agents from reputable firms who also have raving online customer testimonials. As you home shop, we will update your loan estimates specific to the home or homes you are interested in. We will work with your realtor towards a strong, well-prepared offer strategy. Once a seller accepts your offer, you are a just a few weeks away from home ownership.
Stage 3: Transaction- Early Phase
On a typical transaction, there are roughly two dozen people involved. When a transaction goes live, the first week will have a lot going on; locking in your interest rate, loan disclosures, real estate disclosures, escrow paperwork, property inspections, loan documentation, repair negotiations, and so on. It’s common for buyers to feel a bit overwhelmed but don’t worry, we will be guiding you closely each step of the way.
Stage 4: Transaction- Final Approval
The early phase of the transaction produces the documentation your underwriter will review. Once all documentation is reviewed and signed off, your underwriter will issue the final approval. It’s at this point in the transaction that a buyer will release all Final approval. This is generally 14 – 21 days into the typical transaction timeline.
Stage 5: Closing
Once the final approval is in, it’s time to close the transaction. In the first step of closing, we send your loan documents to the escrow officer. Once received, your escrow officer will prepare the settlement statement (so you’ll know the precise amount of funds required to finalize the purchase) and schedule you to sign your loan documents. After you have signed loan documents and provided your closing funds, our funding department works with escrow over the next couple days to finalize the details. When all closing tasks are complete, we fund your loan and you are recorded as the new owner of the home. Now, you can get your keys!!
